Chuck vs The Dark Hour
by lappers84
Summary: AU set after Push Mix. After all that they had been through, Team B thought the worst was over but they were about to be proven wrong.  Chuck/Sarah, Ellie/Devon, Morgan/Alex, Casey, Mama B.
1. New Hope

_A/N – Ok, so after the disaster of my first Chuck story, I thought I'd have another crack at it. Just something I came up with spur of the moment. An AU story set just after Push Mix. May throw in some canon references but most will be original stuff._

_Also may throw in some Charah angst (prepares himself with his flame shield). Sorry, just something I may need to do to add some excitement to the story. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck – Apart from some DVDs_

_

* * *

_

Everything had gone to hell, what he thought was the end of a chapter only turned into something he couldn't possibly have dreamt of. It hadn't been that long when he, with the help of his team had just taken down one of the world's most prolific arms dealers. A man, that the CIA and his own mother weren't able to achieve in the space of twenty years.

And yet here he was trapped under some rubble, his body was on fire and his eyes were foggy, he couldn't remember much about the events that led there, all he could hear was the sound of people screaming in pain and anguish calling for help, the constant din of alarms. His mind swirling with images of loved ones, people he believed he would never see again. Ellie, Devon, Morgan, Casey, his Mum, Alex even the buymorons popped into his head, but also his Sarah. The woman who he had fallen head over heels in love with the moment he set eyes on her that fateful day 4 years ago. Her smile, her eyes everything about her he loved.

His life suddenly started to flash before him. Everything in his life, his parents leaving, growing up with Ellie, Stamford, Bryce, Jill, the email, meeting Sarah, the missions, finding his father, Ellie's wedding, Intersect 2.0, Prague, becoming a spy, saving Sarah, losing his father….again, taking down the ring, finding his mum, taking down Alexei Volkoff, his new niece being born, proposing to Sarah…

Eventually everything started to become a big blur, he felt like his life was coming to an end. He started to wonder if this was what Karma felt like, for all the good he had done over the years was this some way of saying that it would come back and bite you in the backside. It sure as hell felt that way.

The sound from the groans and crying around him were starting to fade out, as were the sounds from the alarms blaring out, his whole body was starting to feel tired as consciousness was ever slipping away from him.

But instead of what he thought was inevitable death, something else happened. The noises became somehow louder, but not just from the alarms or the other injured people. In fact the noises he heard filled him with the urge to shout out with everyone else.

There was movement around him, instructions being yelled. Then he heard the unmistakeable sound of his own name being called.

"BARTOWSKI?"

It was Casey. He tried to yell back but his voice was weak. He instead tried to some of the rubble that was trapping him to ground, but it was too heavy. Once again he tried to call out with a little more effort.

"Casey"

He really hoped he would be heard, but he knew it was futile. With one big breath he tried again.

"CASEY I'M HERE!"

He started to hear the sound of footsteps approaching his position again, he once more tried to move but he was well and truly trapped. But for once he felt hopeful, for everything that's happened the last couple of months the sound of Caseys voiced filled the young agent with hope.

"Just hang on Chuck, I'm gonna get you the hell out of there"

Despite the pain he was in, Chuck Bartowski knew that things were about to change. He refused to give up and he refused to lay down and let the enemy win….though he wasn't exactly in the best position to say that, still he meant it.

Once again the feeling of immense tiredness took him over as consciousness slipped away, just as Casey pulled away the final piece of rubble he heard Chuck say something under his breath.

"Vengeance is a dish best served cold"

It must have been all that time he spent around the nerd but he knew from those words that 'the shit was about to hit the fan'. As he called over for the EMTs.

* * *

_A/N- Ok so a very short beginning chapter, you're all probably wondering what's happening, don't worry, everything will be explained. I hope you liked, please do review :) _


	2. Life is Good

_A/N- Thanks for the reviews guys, really appreciate the comments thus far. Just so you know the first few chapters will be pretty soft and mostly full of conversations and things I feel were missed in canon._

_Disclaimer- Still don't own Chuck_

* * *

**Two Months Earlier**

Chuck was feeling pretty ecstatic right about now, not only had his new niece just been born but he had just proposed to the love of his life…Finally! And from her reaction of him getting down on one knee of a hospital corridor with the ring box open he was pretty sure she had accepted.

Of course it had been some time since they'd shared a kiss that was quite so passionate "Whoa" were Chuck's only words as they parted lips "I'll take that as a yes then?"

Sarah merely smirked "for a smart guy, you can pretty dumb sometimes…of course it's a yes!"

Chucks smile grew to epic proportions as he gently slipped the ring onto Sarah's finger. She immediately held up her ring finger to the light admiring it, of course she had already gotten a good look at it before on the balcony in France but it looked so much better on her.

They embraced once more before they both lifted themselves of the ground.

"Ok, so I guess it's time to tell everyone" Chuck said enthusiastically as he clapped his hands together. Sarah turned and smiled at him as she took his hand in hers. She always loved it when he was like this….who was she kidding she loved everything about him.

They walked hand in hand to Ellie's room. Sarah froze up all of a sudden, Chuck noticing this turned and looked at her with concern.

"Sarah, you ok?" Sarah briefly looked at the ring then back at Chuck "It's nothing bad… it's just do you think we should be telling people now?" Chuck looked at her quizzically "Why shouldn't we, I'm pretty sure everyone will be pretty happy"

"Chuck, your sisters just had her first child, wouldn't it seem like we were stealing her thunder a little?"

"Have you not met my sister? The woman has eyes like an eagle, even if we did hold off on telling the others, she would spot the ring a mile off, then she'd get annoyed that we didn't tell her sooner…."

"Ok sweetie I get it" she replied as she placed her hand on his cheek to stop him from continuing his usual rambling session, though again she did love it when he rambled.

Chuck knocks softly on the door to Ellies hospital room.

"Yes?"

He opens the door part way and peeks his head in.

"Are you decent?" Ellie looks up at the door and smiles as she sees her brothers head appear.

"Come in" Chuck continued in followed by Sarah. Ellie continued to smile at the both of them as they walked to her bedside. Both of them look in awe at the new baby sitting comfortably in Ellies arms.

"Say hello to Clara Woodcomb" she held out the child to Chuck as he gently took her and cradled her in his arms. Sarah merely stared in adoration at the way Chuck was handling her new niece _'her new niece?' _the thought of that made her melt a little, the idea of this extended family continued to heart warm her. She continued to look at the small child sitting in Chuck's arms, taking a quick glance around the room seeing Devon and Mary smiling, she felt tears threatening to consume her, happy tears of course.

Chuck looked at his new fiancée, then briefly back at Ellie.

"Sarah?" She immediately turned to Chucks look and noticed he was holding out Clara to her.

"Oh I don't know, I don't want to hurt her" she said hesitantly as she bought her hands up in defence. Chuck merely scoffed at her reaction "honey, you're not going to break her"

At this point Mary cut in "if it helps, just pretend you're handling live explosives." At which the atmosphere in the room suddenly tensed as she became aware that three sets of eyes were on her. "What? It did help a little for me" she said with a sheepish smile.

Sarah took a gulp and gently took baby Clara out of Chucks arms, she tense slightly as she positioned her into her arms worrying that she might accidently break her. She looked at the child in her hands and begins to tear up again as Clara stared at her in wonder. The soft brown eyes just reminded her of what her and Chuck could have together _'stop getting ahead of yourself Walker, you just got engaged' _

"Auntie Sarah" Ellie said with her smile stuck on her face. Sarah looked up abruptly at the new mother with a look of mild shock at the revelation. Though just as she was about to say another word Ellies smile faded as her face loses all colour as if she'd just seen a ghost. Devon seeing this instantly comes to his wife's side.

"Babe, whats wrong? You feeling ok?"

Ellie merely started to point weakly towards Sarah

"What is that on your finger, Sarah?"

Chuck and Sarah both look to each other and smile. Ellie glances between the two in shock. "You guys are engaged?"

Both Devon and Mary snap their heads towards the couple almost shock on their faces. All Sarah could do was nod her head and grin like an idiot to confirm Ellies suspicions. Chuck gently nudged her ribs.

"Didn't I tell you?"

Ellie remained silent for several minutes letting the news sink in. Chuck becoming a little concerned walked a little closer to her. "Ell? You still in there?"

* * *

Casey was back in his room, getting his things together. Though still stuck in a wheelchair it certainly wasn't easy, the nurses told him he still needed to rest but for the first time in a while he felt pretty good, sure he was thrown out of a thirty story building…at least he can say he broke his freefall record of sixty feet. His cell phone buzzed at that point, wheeling his way over to his pants as he fumbled into the pocket to reach it.

"Casey, secure"

"Beckman, secure, I just wanted to see how everything was going over there colonel"

"Yes ma'am, everyone seems to be doing fine."

"Very well, make sure the others know they have been given a few days to recooperate, but I will expect a debriefing in due course. Good work, Beckman out." The call was then disconnected.

Casey found it odd whenever he heard the general speak in such a happy tone. He didn't even know she had that level of emotion.

A knock at the door distracted him from his thoughts "Yeah" he simply said toward the door. The door open and in popped Morgan Grimes.

"What is it Morgan" He didn't really have time to be talking to the moron. Having said that he didn't really have anything else to do right now.

"Just thought I'd tell you that Alex just went home, said she had some errands to run for her mum"

Casey merely grunted. "So umm…how you doing?" Morgan continued "Do you need anything?"

"No Grimes, I'm quite capable of managing on my own." Morgan just continued to stand there.

"What?"

"Ok look, I know I've already discussed this with you" Casey gave Morgan an annoyed look, but Morgan continued anyway.

"I just want to find a good way of telling her that I love her, but I just need some help doing it"

"And you thought you'd come to me, Mr not-afraid-to-show-his-lady-feelings."

"Maybe we can help each other, we both need to tell her."

"Look Morgan, unlike Walker I have a little more difficulty showing my true feelings, she maybe my daughter, but I lost the right to truly know her when I chose my country over my family."

"That's why we can help each other." Morgan's incessant nagging was starting to annoy Casey. "Come one John, why will you not let me help you….one day I may become your son in law"

Morgan made his way to the door as Casey wheeled right behind. Making their way out of the room down the corridor

Casey scrunched his face up and glared at Morgan grunting "Don't remind me" He continued to stare down at the Colonel with a mock puppy dog look. "Uhhh, fine I'll talk to her….but if anyone gets wind of this conversation…."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll break my everything." Looking across at Casey as they head off towards Ellies room "You know you really could use some new threats."

Out of nowhere they hear an earth shattering screeching sound coming from down the corridor.

"Was that Ellie?" Morgan said looking down the corridor in panic.

"Come on" is all that Casey replied. Morgan took the handles of Caseys wheelchair and raced down the corridor at full pace. Charging into the room without any extra thought, they were met by the look of extreme happiness from everyone in the room.

"Guys what's happening, we heard Ellie squealing, and knowing Ellie they were happy squeals."

Sarah and Chuck turned to the two new occupants in the room and both together said "We're engaged"

"Hey, congratulations guys" Morgan went in to hug both Chuck and Sarah. Casey smiled from his wheelchair, Chuck shook his hand and Sarah came in for a hug. "So everything is coming together, Ellie has a new daughter…..which I guess would make me and uncle?" Morgan says whilst glancing at the older Bartowski holding onto Clara, Ellie merely rolled her eyes and smiled. As Mary and Devon both hugged and congratulated the newly engaged couple.

"You guys are awesome"

"Congratulations." Mary said leaning in to hug Sarah, then whispered in her ear. "Don't make the same mistake I did, Sarah" as she pulled away noting the reaction from Sarah. Ellie yawns from all the excitement of the last few hours indicating she needs to nap.

"I guess that's our cue to leave then…..get some rest sis" Chuck said as he leaned in to kiss her on her forehead. Devon took baby Clara off Ellies hands as he made his way to the nursery. Making their way out to the hallway Sarah once again takes Chucks hand in hers, Casey making his way back to his room stops and turns to the couple.

"Oh just so you know we got a few days off….I guess Beckman was pretty pleased with your plan Bartowski, never heard her in such a good mood." With that Casey once again turned in his chair and wheeled himself back to his room. Sarah placed a soft kiss on Chucks lips.

"What was that for?"

"Just, proud of you." She said grinning at her new fiancé "Your plan was brilliant." Chuck smiled his typical nerdy smile "It was a good plan wasn't it."

Sarah playfully hits him on his chest and then smiles seductively. "I think we need to celebrate, don't you."

"When have I ever said no to you." Chuck smiled as they make their way out of the hospital. I guess right now life is good.

* * *

_A/N – Well that's a few issues mentioned that I feel needed mentioning including the long anticipated Casey/Sarah hug that was maliciously cut from Push Mix. Next chapter will include some more issues before a small glimpse of the real story. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. Reviews are welcome :)_


	3. Home Again

_A/N- A little more filler in this chapter, but also decided to add a scene in order to progress the story along. _

_Disclaimer- Don't own Chuck_

_

* * *

_

Five days had passed since Clara was born and things were starting to get back to normal, though for Chuck nothing was merely normal. He and the rest of Team B were in castle receiving a debriefing from General Beckman and just as Casey had told him in the hospital those days ago she was in an oddly good mood. Almost as if a doppelganger had appeared and replaced the old grumpy, scowling general he was used to.

"Well team, thanks to your efforts we have finally been able to shut down a majority of Volkoffs main sites. And the Hydra network is safely in CIA hands. Chuck I want to thank you personally for the work you've done."

"Umm General I can't take all the credit; it was a team effort after all." Chuck replied glancing around the room at the rest of Team B, then sees his mother at the far side of the conference table. "Also my father was of great help to this operation." She looked across and smiled at her son. He looked back to screen.

"It was his virus that transferred over the Hydra network, I merely executed it."

"That maybe so Chuck, but it was your quick wit that enabled us to finally capture Alexei Volkoff." Chuck merely smiled at this and felt his hand being gently squeezed as once more Sarah had taken it hostage.

"I'd like to talk to agent Frost in private, the rest of you are dismissed." The team began to disband as they headed for the exit to castle, Chuck taking a last look at his mother as he left.

"Well, Mary it's certainly good that you're back." Beckman noted with a smile.

"Thank you Dianne, I'm just glad that it's over. Not a single day went by that I didn't miss my family dearly." Mary replied with a look of regret on her face. Beckman nodded in understanding.

"What are your plans now, do you wish to stay with the CIA?"

Mary sighed "I'm not sure yet, I have a second chance to bond with the family I haven't seen in twenty years. And there are things I need to discuss with Chuck.

"About Stephen?" Mary briefly closed her eyes at the mention of her now deceased husband. The only man she ever truly loved. And nodded in response.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were walking into the courtyard of the apartment complex after their debriefing in castle. As they approached their apartment Ellie walked out the door of her place.

"Oh hey guys" At the sound of her voice they both turned. "Any chance I can have a talk with my brother?" Chuck looked at Sarah and tells her that he'll meet her inside, in which she carried on in. Chuck walked over to Ellie who perched herself on the edge of the fountain and takes a seat next to her.

"What's up Ell?"

Ellie sighed slightly before continuing "Chuck I know you've been spying again." Chuck looked panicked at the revelation. "Wha..what?"

"Come on Chuck, how stupid do you think I am? She replied as she glared at her brother accusingly.

"Definitely not stupid." Chuck said with a grin in an attempt to the lighten the atmosphere, then turning serious. "I'm sorry sis, I wanted to tell you but I didn't want to worry you what with the baby and all." He turned and looked down at his hands before looking at Ellie again. "How did you figure it out, anyway" he continued.

"Well, to be honest when you told me you were looking for mom, I had my suspicions…and of course in Costa Gravas when you lept into action. But I think the thing that really gave it away was when you told me mom was a spy." She stopped for a second to gather her thoughts.

"I should be mad at you, you broke a promise but I suppose that comes from being a spy?" Chuck sighed "Ellie."

"Please Chuck let me finish…..I should be mad at you, but I see now that you have something that you are comfortable with. I was always the one to push you to do great things, getting you away from the Buy More." Chuck laughed under his breath "Well technically I still do work at the Buy More, only now more as a cover job."

"You're a big boy now Chuck, I guess I don't need to look out for you anymore" Ellie replied with a slight grin on her face. "Besides I'm officially a mom now. So I need to take some priority."

"Well I'm sure there are things you can still help me with….such as relationship stuff; you know how clueless I can be sometimes." Ellie gave Chuck a look of concern "no, no, everything between me and Sarah is great, couldn't be better in fact; But with the wedding planning, we can always use an extra head."

Ellie smiled "Of course I'll help, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't meddle in your wedding planning." She joked as she gently shoulder bumped her little brother. "I should get back inside, got a baby to look after….I'm glad we had this talk, seems like too long since we actually spoke to each other, kind of missed it."

"Yeah, me too…..Oh by the way, what's the sit rep with mom anyway?"

"She insisted on staying in a hotel, but I wouldn't let her. Seems like she's really making an effort to try and fit in again." Ellie pulled Chuck in for a hug "I'll see you later" she said before heading back into her apartment. Chuck sat for a second as he took things in. A smile soon appeared on his face has he made his way back to his apartment.

* * *

The mission was supposed to be simple, infiltrate the facility and snatch the flash drive. Agent Riley was still a relative newcomer to the spy world, only graduated from the farm six months earlier and since then he had been teamed with one of the farms most senior agents, though NSA, agent Grier was a mentor of sorts to agent Riley and had taught him a lot about the spy business, so a mission like this would be relatively easy, right? Apparently not. Infiltrating the facility was easy enough, using ID cards that they had forged specifically for the mission. However half way through the two agents had been split up.

"Grier, do you read me?" Riley spoke into his watch, as he slowly made his way down the dimly lit corridor. Having already subdued two guards, Riley was starting to feel a little anxious. According to the Intel he had received regarding the layout of the building, he was closing in on the location of this flash drive, though he wasn't briefed on what was on it. Obviously being a need to know subject he drove that thought out of his mind as he approached the door. Riley pulled out his firearm and cocked it, ready for the possibility of a gun fight, though so far things had been quiet….maybe a little too quiet. He tried to contact his partner again, but he was met with silence once more; He's anxiety started to grow, this didn't feel right to him.

He slowly pushed open the door that led into what looked like an office, the room was filled with computers but what he noticed more interestingly was the large monitor at the end of the room. Staying alert he sneaked towards the head of the room looking out for any guards or personnel. He reached the giant monitor which was attached to a large computer. Taking another quick look around the room, he had a look at this computer and noticed almost immediately of the drive that was sticking out of the computer. _'This must be it' _he thought to himself.

"Grier?" Once again speaking into his watch.

"Yeah"

Riley was mighty relieved to hear the older agents voice. "I think I've located the flash drive."

"Ok, where are you?" the older agent replied.

"Sixth floor, computer room."

"Alright stay there, I'm on my way."

Riley decided he would lay low in one of the cubicles adjacent to the exit. However before he could, the monitor in front of him sprang to life. A message popped up on the screen simply reading:

**THE CORE IS STRONG, WE CANNOT BE BEATEN.**

'What the hell was 'The Core' he thought to himself. The facility alarms jolted Riley out of his thoughts. Reacting quickly he took the drive out of the computer and took off to the nearest exit.

"Change of plan" he shouted into his watch "I'm going to head out the back exit." As he came flying down the stairs. He could hear the shouting and footsteps above him. He reached the exit and burst open the door leading out to the parking lot, still hearing the alarms blaring he ran on.

As he turned the corner he ran into a group of heavily armed men. One of his main skills in the farm was his aiming, he impressed a lot of the instructors with his marksmanship even coming close to beating agent Walker and Colonel Casey's records, and under other circumstances he would be handle this situation, unfortunately for him he was pretty much outnumbered and was sure the guards following would be on him soon.

Shots were suddenly fired, as the men in front of him dropped like flies. A car skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Get in" shouted Grier from the driver side.

Not wasting any more time Riley jumped into the front seat. The car quickly sped off out the parking lot as the sound of gunfire could be heard behind them, making sure they were clear agent Grier took his foot off the gas.

"Do you have the drive?"

"Yeah I got it" Riley replied as he took it out of his jacket pocket "What's on this thing anyway that's so important?" He asked. Grier stayed silent keeping his focus on the road. After a short while he turned into an alleyway.

"Why are we here?"

Grier merely smirked at the young agent. "You did good kid…but not good enough"

"Wha…? Before he could finish his sentence, Grier had pulled his silenced M1911 and shot the young agent through the head, holstering his weapon he grabbed the drive from Riley's now dead fingers and placed it in the glove box.

He got out of the car, quickly scanning the nearby area and went around to the passenger side, pulling Riley out and fireman carried the dead agent to a nearby dumpster and tossed him in. Grier got back in the car and pulled out his IPhone.

"This is Grier." He said with no emotion.

"_Do you have the flash drive?" _

"I have it."

"_Good, I take it the mission went without any hiccups."_

"Better than expected, a little too easy in fact."

"_Very good, you have your instructions agent Grier…..The Core thanks you."_

With that the line went dead. Grier pocketed the phone, taking one more look at the dumpster in which agent Riley's body lay "What a waste of talent." He snorted before starting the engine and driving off.

* * *

A few hours had passed back at Casa Walkertowski/Grimes and Sarah was finishing getting herself ready for bed, she tried to grab some time with her new fiancé but unfortunately Morgan had already claimed him. He was still in the living room playing Call of Duty and knew it would be a while longer before he gave in for the night.

But to her surprise though the bedroom door opened and in walked Chuck fashioning an almost triumphant grin.

"You guys finished already?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah, well after beating the snot out of Morgan, he decided that I had been cheating and stormed off." He said rolling his eyes. Sarah chuckled. "Which means I get to spend time with the most beautiful girl in the world….who also just happens to be my fiancée." He said giving her the Bartowski eyebrow dance.

"What are you suggesting Mr Bartowski?" she asked seductively. Chuck slowly crawled onto the bed towards Sarah.

"Well, I could do a little of this" he planted a series of soft kisses on her neck. Sarah moaned with pleasure_ 'damn him for finding my weak spot' _she thought,he continued on down her neck towards her shoulder blade, then moving up and placing a passionate kiss on her lips which she was happy to respond too.

"Where has this come from all of a sudden?" she asked pulling away briefly.

"Well, since we've been engaged we haven't had much time for ourselves and since Morgan was good enough to give in for the night, I figure we could have a little play time for ourselves?" Sarah smiled her special smile at Chuck, but just as quickly it turned into a slight frown.

"You, ok?"

Sarah sighed as she repositioned herself on the bed. "I've just been thinking lately…." Chuck suddenly looked a little worried about what she was probably about to say.

"I love you so much Chuck and I'm really glad we're engaged but….."

"But?"

"It's just…well….I…I know you probably want this really big wedding."

"Yeah of course…don't you? Chuck asked. Sarah merely stared at him hoping he would realise the problem with a big wedding.

"Chuck don't you get it….." He was still a little unsure what she meant. Then as if a light bulb appeared above his head he came to a sudden realisation.

"…..I don't have anyone on my side to have at the wedding and who will walk me down the aisle?" She continued

"Oh god Sarah, I'm so sorry. I've been so focused on my family I've completely neglected you."

"No, Chuck it's not your fault, I probably should have told you sooner." Chuck gave her a sad smile then gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek.

"Sarah you've done so much for my family is there anything I can do for yours?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

"I don't know Chuck, it's pretty complicated." She replied as she laid her head on his chest.

"Come on Sarah it's our job to take down some of the biggest threats in the world. I'm sure we can handle your family, however complicated."

Sarah sighed and smiled.

"Thank you, Chuck."

A buzzing sound from the bedside table alerted the pair. Chuck reached across and noticed it was his phone. Taking a second to look at the message he had received, he quickly got out of bed and started to dress.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked as she sat up in bed.

"Message from Beckman, she's calling for an emergency briefing."

Sarah groaned slightly, as she got out of the bed and started to dress also. She hated interruptions to her Chuck time, but that's what happens when you're an international spy.

She finished getting dressed as Chuck went to fetch Morgan. She took a brief second to look at her engagement ring again and smiled.

"You ready?" Said Chuck as he stood at the door way

"Let's go."

* * *

_A/N – That's chapter 3 complete, sorry it took longer than I originally anticipated. But I feel I I'm starting to get the story going a little. Please do review guys :)_


	4. New Missions

_A/N- thanks for all of the review thus far guys, really appreciate it. I'm hoping to expand on the storyline in this chapter. BTW I don't have a beta for this story, so if anybody is up to it please don't hesitate to contact me :)_

_Disclaimer- Don't own Chuck_

_

* * *

_

Michael Tanner wasn't usually a patient man, but he had learned to deal with long winded situations; Of course being in the CIA for fifteen years he didn't have a lot of choice. His current predicament wasn't helping much though, ever since becoming new CIA director he had been stuck with clean up duty. With the fall of Volkoff Industries most of government resources had been concentrated on cleaning up what was left of his dwindling empire.

Unfortunately that wasn't the only problem he had to deal with, with the possession of the newly acquired Hydra network, his superiors were tasking him to look into new threats via this network. Most of those however were fairly dormant, but one such group had suddenly popped out of the woodwork seemingly overnight. Calling themselves 'The Core' consisting mainly of former intelligence agents but there hadn't been much more to go on, all he knew was that this group was fairly innocuous and didn't seem like an immediate threat.

But Tanner wasn't one to take things likely and decided to investigate into this group, but with this clean-up operation he was hopelessly under staffed and to top it off CIA/NSAs top team had been given time off, no thanks to Diane Beckman, though he sensed a higher power was involved. He instead had to resort to making use of an up and coming team to check out a lead which intel picked up regarding a flash drive which apparently contained information about this new group.

All this stress was giving him a headache, frankly he just wanted to go home and sleep for a few hours, but before he could think anymore his phone rang.

"Tanner secure" listening in to voice on the other side, his expression turned from one of exhaustion to one of shock "When did this happen" after a few more seconds "dammit, fine keep me updated" before he slammed the phone down. He sighed in frustration before reaching for the intercom.

"Sandy?" he called

"_yes sir?" _came the voice of his assistant

"I need you to get a hold of General Beckman immediately."

"_Yes sir" _came the reply.

He leaned back in his chair, wondering whether this day could get any worse.

* * *

Chuck, Sarah and Morgan walked down to the stairs of Castle, noticing that Casey was already there waiting for them. As if sensing their arrival General Beckman appeared on screen.

"What's the emergency, General?" Chuck said as he approached the conference table.

"Good, you're all here; unfortunately we have a situation that needs immediate attention."

The General clicked a button and the screen split revealing a middle aged man in a suit and tie.

"Director Tanner." Sarah commented.

"Agent Walker, Agent Bartowski, Colonel Casey and uhhhh Mr Grimes, we recently received intel into a possible new terrorist cell known as 'The Core'."

"The Core?" Morgan questioned "Where do these bad guys get their names from?"

"We sent out a couple of our top agents to retrieve a flash drive that we believe may have contained further intelligence into this new group, from a facility in New York." He continued on ignoring Morgan's comment. "But we lost contact with the agents a few hours ago."

"Ok, what is it you need from us, sir?" asked Sarah.

"I received a phone call from the NYPD who reported finding a body in a dumpster just a few miles from the facility. After searching the body it was confirmed to be of Agent Riley, one of our latest recruits and one of the agents I sent in to get a hold of this drive."

It was Beckman who jumped in to continue the briefing.

"We need you to find and bring back this flash drive as soon as possible."

"Do we know where it is?" Casey asked with interest.

General Beckman sighed, not really wanting to reveal what she was about to say.

"We believe it is in the hands of this man" She pressed another button and a dossier appeared on screen.

Casey grunted in shock. The other three noticed his reaction and turned to look at him.

"Do you know this guy, Casey?" He merely stared at the screen, ignoring Chuck's question.

"His name is Agent Simon Grier." Beckman stated. "One of NSAs most prestigious agents."

Casey continued to stare at the dossier before finally chiming in "Major Grier was one of the best soldiers I was deployed with, perhaps one of the loyalist too." He looked suddenly flummoxed "Ma'am are we sure that this is correct?"

"I'm afraid so Colonel Casey" Director Tanner said cutting in. "We received a signal from an outgoing phone call." This time it was the Directors turn to press a button.

"_This is Grier."_

"_Do you have the flash drive?" _

"_I have it."_

"_Good, I take it the mission went without any hiccups."_

"_Better than expected, a little too easy in fact."_

"_Very good, you have your instructions agent Grier…..The Core thanks you."_

Casey looked pissed at hearing this recording. He didn't like traitors let alone traitors who were considered to be friends. Chuck wanted to say something to him to try and help, but he knew it probably wouldn't do any good so he continued looking at the screen.

"We tracked his vehicle, and was last seen heading back to LA, we believe he is meeting with Grigori Kukov at his manor in the Hollywood Hills."

Chuck felt the usual feeling of a flash coming on.

_Beach ball_

_Ak47 machine gun_

_Umbrella_

_Pictured dossier_

_Suitcase_

"Former Russian militant and black market arms dealer. Has sold some pretty nasty stuff to some pretty nasty people. We're talking anything from VX gas to anthrax." Chuck stated glancing around the room with a slight expression of horror.

"This is why we need to reacquire that drive" Tanner explained "He is throwing a party tomorrow night, sneak in and get that drive." With that he quickly logged off

"Be careful." Beckman warned "We don't know what it is we're dealing with. Dismissed" The monitor then blacked out. Casey quickly left growling all the way out as Morgan followed, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone.

"Well, looks like we get to hang out with the rich and famous." Chuck said showing off his usual Bartowski smile. Sarah merely returned his smile with one of her own as they made their way out of Castle.

* * *

The next day started off pretty normally for Chuck, he arrived a little later than usual to the Buy More only because Sarah insisted on more snuggle time, which he always took pleasure in. However as he made his way inside he noticed the distinct lack of customers, instead replaced by technicians and workers.

"Chuck" Morgan shouted as he ran up to him.

"Morgan, buddy whats going on?" Chuck asked still glancing around the store

"The government are ramping this place up again, something to do with security protocol"

A voice alerted the two of them

"Agent Bartowski, Mr Grimes." General Beckman called as she approached the two men.

"General Beckman?"

"We are making some upgrades to security, ever since Alexei Volkoff infiltrated the store, there's been some concern over the safety of its cover."

"Ummm General?" Morgan piped in "That wasn't a tech problem, that was down to Jeff and Lester."

"Maybe so, but Director Tanner went above my head on this one. After reading the reports he went straight to the Secretary of Defence, who insisted that the store have a complete security over haul." She handed Chuck a folder. "The CIA have been working behind the scenes with a select group of analysts and engineers to create a cover company known as ConceptTech. They were bought in to help with the over haul."

Chuck once again felt the effects of a flash, but it was over quickly.

"Huh, not much up here!" Chuck exclaimed pointing at his head.

"There wouldn't be, ConceptTech is a covert dummy company and was never fully included in the 2.0 since at the time it was so new."

Another voice alerted the three. And a voice Chuck vaguely recognised; he turned and saw a dark curly haired man approach him. Chuck squinted slightly trying to figure where he knew this man from. Then it hit him.

"Mark Ratner?" The man nodded in acknowledgement.

"I haven't seen you since Jen..Sarahs high school reunion."

"Mr Ratner has been helping us for the last two years. And is privy to the intersect project."

Chuck and Morgan both quickly glared at the general in alarm. But Beckman merely dismissed this.

"It's ok Agent Bartowski, I'm well aware of the risks of blabbing my mouth about the intersect." Chuck merely half smiled at this. "But it is kind of cool to actually meet the most successful human intersect host." Ratner said with a silly grin on his face.

"The Director has allowed Mr Ratner to join the team on a temporary basis. Think of him as a liaison to ConceptTech." She turned to Morgan. "Mr Grimes you will need to show Mr Ratner the Castle facility, make sure he is familiar with the setup."

"No problemo General B" Morgan mock saluted as he led Ratner to the home theatre room and the entrance to Castle. Chuck turned back to Beckman.

"Umm, General. Not one to tell you how to do your job, but are you sure this is above board."

"I understand your concern Chuck, but I have personally seen the development of this company for some time now, it is only now that we felt that the company had some practical use."

"And as far as Mr Ratner goes, he was recruited shortly after you took down Heather Chandler the first time around. The file you have will give you as much detail into the company as is needed. Make sure to look through it." The General then turned and walked away before Chuck could say anything else. He looked at the file briefly then headed down to Castle.

* * *

Casey was in the armoury sorting through the weapons, as he kept one eye on Morgan as he was showing Mark Ratner around Castle. He didn't like it much this sudden security over haul at the Buy More and the inclusion of this other member, also the fact that he had just learnt that an old teammate was supposedly some kind of sleeper agent for an enemy terrorist cell wasn't helping his bad mood.

Morgan finished showing Mark around Castle and led him back out again as Chuck appeared with the file in hand.

"What you got there Bartowski?" Casey asked seeing the file.

"Oh, just some info on ConceptTech." Casey grunted and continued sorting through the weapons in the armoury. Chuck and Morgan looked at each other noticing the particularly foul mood he was in.

"Everything ok buddy?" Chuck asked

"Yeah, everything is fine." Casey replied in a less than convincing tone

"Is this about agent Grier?"

Casey grunted and started to walk away. Chuck and Morgan followed him in the hope of finding out what was wrong.

"You know you can talk about it right."

"I don't feel like talking about it ok?"

Chuck wasn't sure how to proceed but Morgan decided to carry on.

"You know if you don't want to talk to us, you can always talk to Alex." Casey sharply turned and glared at Morgan. "Just saying" he conceded.

"We don't have time for this. We have a mission to prep for, remember?" With the Casey shoved past the two and stormed off.

* * *

Sarah was making her way into the kitchen after coming out of the shower and dressed, she hated waking up late the day of a mission but never minded too much when she got to snuggle with Chuck before he left. She opened the fridge to reach for some orange juice and put it into a glass from the washer. She leaned against one of the kitchen tops as she absentmindedly took a sip of her juice, thinking through the conversation she had with Chuck previous night about wedding plans and finding her family, but despite Chuck good intentions she was worried.

Once upon a time she would never have worried about a thing like this, life was far simpler jumping from mission to mission just trying to survive but now everything was becoming more clear; a family life, her future with Chuck. The conversation made her worried that he would think less of her if or when he would find out about the rest of her family. A knock on the door snapped her back to reality.

"Anyone in?" Ellie asked as she peeked her head in.

"Ellie." Sarah replied as she walked towards the door

"Hey Sarah, is Chuck here?"

"No, is there a problem?"

"No, no, no problem, actually it was you I wanted to talk to."

"Oh"

Sarah and Ellie made their way over to the couch.

"Do you want a drink or something?" Sarah asked attempting to be a good hostess.

"No, I'm fine." Sarah took a seat next to Ellie.

"….So, what's up?"

Ellie turned to Sarah and smiled

"Well it's just I haven't had a chance to talk to you in a while and since we're going to be sisters soon I'd like to help out with things, you know wedding stuff."

"It's funny I hadn't really given it much thought, I mean when he proposed to me in the hospital my only thoughts were of Chuck and I getting eloped somewhere." Ellie's smile faded and she frowned. "So you don't want a big wedding?"

Sarah sighed "Before I even met Chuck, marriage was something that was only considered to be part of a cover, but ever since I met him things started to change, my vision of the future became much brighter and I could honestly see myself getting married for real."

"So what's the problem?"

"I love your little brother more than anything in the world, but a conversation we had last night freaked me out a little." Sarah started to look down at her hands, trying not to look at Ellie directly. She took another breath.

"I never had a very good upbringing. My dad was in an out of prison and my relationship with my mum…well i didn't know much about mum before she left." Ellie placing her hand on Sarah's in support.

"When I was with my dad I never got a chance to settle down, we were always on the move. I never really had any friends so when I was offered a chance to join the CIA I jumped at the opportunity." Sarah shifted slightly on the couch to regain some of her composure "I became one of CIAs top spies. A cold and emotionless killer; a consummate professional. That was where life was heading for me, I forgot about my family life, my CIA became my new family." Sarah looked at Ellie and smiled sadly.

"Until now I never really understood the true value of family, but I'm just afraid that bringing up my past would make Chuck think less of me."

Ellie chuckled slightly at Sarah's confession. "Come on, this is Chuck we're talking about here. And as far as your family goes…well you still have us, you are practically my sister after all." Sarah's sad smile turned into a genuine smile. "Thanks Ellie, you can't imagine how much better this is to get off my chest.

Ellie moved in and gave Sarah a hug before she stood up and headed to the door, reaching it she stopped and turned. "You know one of these days we really should have a girl's day out, just the two of us."

"You know that sounds like fun, I'd love to" Sarah replied with a grin. As soon as Ellie left, Sarah started to think about how easy it was to talk to her. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all"

With that in mind she decided to head over to meet Chuck in Castle to prep for their mission later tonight.

* * *

_A/N- Sorry for the delay, a little bit of laziness on my part, I hope to try and get the next chapter up a little sooner, but no promises. _


	5. Update

Hey guys, just a little update on things. My apologies for the extraordinary amount of time since I've written anything, but rest assured Dark Hour will not be abandoned and will be continued at some point. Though I may need to make some changes to the story, I still have a relatively good idea where I want it to go.

I'm also working on a new story with some help from MySoapBox, which will be a follow on of sorts to the wonderful Everything She Ever Wanted; an absolutely brilliant one shot, based on the movie Castaway and a suggested read (though I'm sure I'll make plenty of references to the story in case people haven't read it.)

Thanks for your time. Stay tuned :)


End file.
